Manual:Infantry Manual:Organization:Fields of Service

Fields of Service
The Infantry Branch is divided into seven related areas, called Fields of Service. These fields of service are based on mission and equipment used.

Light Infantry (LI)
Ground troops that fight on foot with a minimum of carried weapons in fast-moving, adapta-ble formations are Light Infantry. Also known as LI, today’s light infantry bears a strong re-semblance to the first infantry, even though their weapons & gear have changed. Light in-fantry units are what most people think of when they hear “Marine”. The use of LI is a bit more limited in the 24th century, since the lightly protected infantryman is susceptible pow-erful weapon systems of today.

Powered Infantry (PI)
Power Infantry has been a part of the ground forces of several civilizations since before the founding of the SFMC. The technology has been improved and by the time of the Dominion War powered infantry had be-come an extremely effective weapon. This “powered armor” is less of a Mecha and more than exoskeleton. It is a fully mechanized and articulated suit individually fitted to the infantryman that includes life support, weap-ons, fire control, communications, and essential supplies. While it is not organic technology, any powered infantryman will tell you their suit is an extension of themselves. There are five types of PI Suits currently in-service to the SFMC. Designs can be found in the Equipment section.

Suit Control Principles: Negative Feedback
Except for the obvious difference in scale, PI suits resemble some types of Mecha vehicles. This leads the general public to assume controls and operation of each are the same, but nothing can be further from the truth. Mecha vehicles are vehicles: the pilot sits at controls that he operates both with his hands, and through his neural interface helmet. A PI suit is fitted to its wearer and operates as an extension of himself. It adds to his strength, his speed, and his survivability, but it functions with him, not for him.

It does this through a complex system of sensors which press themselves against the wearer when he climbs into and activates the suit. These then sense the wearer’s body movements on a continual basis. For exam-ple, when the wearer lifts his forearm, the sensors feel the increased pressure between the top of the wear-er’s arm and the inside of the suit’s upper forearm. As long as the wearer continues to push, the suit will raise it’s forearm in an effort to relieve the pressure on the sensors. When the wearer stops their arm, the pressure on the sensors also stops, so the suit’s arm stops. This is negative feedback.

What negative feedback means to the wearer is that the suit moves with them naturally and instinctively from the very first instant they climb into it. They do not have to learn complex controls to make the suit move, they IN MANUAL 13 require only experience in learning the suit’s capabilities. From the first time a recruit climbs into the suit, they can walk, run, jump, pick items up, etc. Of course, not knowing how much the suit amplifies their movements, they may find themselves atop a building the first time they try to jump. That’s where experience comes in.

Suit Capabilities
Powered suits magnify the strength of the wearer by using servomotors and heavy load bearing structural components to increase the power of the wearer’s natural arms and legs. For instance, in a powered suit, the average human can lift 10 to 20 times the amount of weight they could normally lift on a class M planet (the amount varies with suit type). Accordingly, the amount of weight a trooper can carry is increased as well. While this is quite impressive when the items in question are things like people and furniture, the statistic is somewhat less impressive when one notes that this means one Powered Infantryman can only just pick up another.

In the same manner arm strength is amplified, so too is leg strength. Even in the heavy Dreadnought suit, a PI can run at about 30mph. The lighter H227 Viper Suit—built for speed—can manage over 50mph. This means that PI troops very rarely require vehicles for deployment as they can run about as fast as an APC an-yway. Leg strength is amplified in another way as well. By using jump-jet assemblies in the legs (similar to common jet-boots used by recreational mountain climbers), a powered suit can jump much higher than an average hominid. On a class M world a Pathfinder scouting suit can average a vertical leap of 15m with little effort. There is enough fuel in the Pathfinder leg assemblies for a hundred such jumps. The heavier Dragoon suit has neither the height-range nor endurance of the Pathfinder, but even the much heavier assault suit can crank out a 10m vertical leap when need arises.

Powered armor also increases a PI’s survivability by protecting him with both physical and energy armor. The suit’s skin is duranium composite in most areas, very resistant to impact and damage. Vital areas also have a thin layer of cast rhodinium added (helmet, chest, back). If energy usage is not a problem, the suit can also use a low-level force-field that will protect it from most light weapons for a good amount of time. A powered suit also increases a PI’s endurance by providing him with a comfortable environment inside the suit, and by giving him water and nutrients on demand (through a food/water tube inside the helmet). A PI can even sleep inside his suit if necessary (the suit can be set to remain stationary while the trooper relaxes). The real limit to a PI’s endurance, then is his suit, which runs on charge packs similar to a tactical aerospace fighter. Charge pack endurance varies widely with suit load, operating environment, suit type, etc.

Capability Standards
In the following listings of suit types, each suits’ average capabilities are listed. Although it should be noted that since weapons mix, field equipment, and fighting environment can vary widely, these figures are really only valid for comparing one suit type to the others under the same circumstances. The actual maximums of the suit vary too widely to cover ever permutation in this brief guide. For purposes of these comparisons, the following standards are established:
 * 1) The suit is operating in a Class M environment (as defined by Starfleet Regulatory Agency (SFRA) standard 102).
 * 2) The suit environment is being maintained to SFRA standard 102.19 for Class M compatible oxygen-breathing personnel.
 * 3) The suit is being worn by an average hominid (as defined by SFRA-standard 103).
 * 4) The suit is operating with the average ordnance load-out listed in the suit description, and under bat-tlefield conditions

Mechanized Infantry (MI)
Sometimes attached to the Armor Branch, Mechanized Infantry are vehicle-based infantry units. The small-est organizational unit of the MI are two vehicle squad instead of a four marine fire team. 3 squads (6 vehi-cles) make up a platoon and 2 to 3 platoons (12 to 18 vehicles) make up your typical company. At the com-pany level, formations are no longer pure do to the fact that missions have logistical & support units attached.

Some of the most popular vehicles used by the Infantry Branch are Hummer Jeeps for their protection and heavily modified Argo Dune Buggy’s for the speed, adaptability & durability.

See the equipment for complate breakdown of the Argo vehciles.